The Windsor Spitfires are doing a lot of soul-searching. After entering the 2023 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Playoffs as the Western Conference’s top seed, they’ve struggled to find any consistency. On Saturday night, that continued as they fell down 2-0 to the eighth-seeded Kitchener Rangers.
Despite this series being a one-versus-eight matchup, both clubs expected a battle. While the Spitfires led the OHL in goals this season (320 in 68 games), the Rangers are a force, boasting significant talent. Some even considered them a three-or-four-seed in quality. They had a poor start to the season and only came together near the end. However, that seems like perfect timing now as it’s creating a giant mess for the favourites.
Spitfires Search for Answers
After dropping Game 1 at home on Thursday night, the Spitfires came into Game 2 in Windsor looking for revenge. Unfortunately for the home side, it was a lot of deja vu.
Rangers’ captain Francesco Pinelli scored shorthanded just nine minutes into the first for a 1-0 lead. From there, they stifled any chances the Spitfires had, forced constant turnovers, and made life miserable. They also added three more to cruise to a 4-0 win. This was a Murphy’s Law game; if it could go wrong for the favourites, it did. They were outplayed, outhustled, and suffocated at every turn. Spitfires’ head coach Marc Savard said the visitors deserved props again.
“They played good hockey, my hats off to them,” he said.
“That’s two games in a row. We had a couple of breakdowns early, they score, and it seems like an uphill battle … We’re not executing right now. They’re working and you can tell. They’re skating, they’re winning races, and they look faster right now.”
Spitfires’ captain Matthew Maggio (New York Islanders) led the league with 111 points this season, including 21 on the powerplay. For a club that was second with a 25.9 percent success rate, going zero-for-six, including allowing two shorthanded goals, is unacceptable. He said it’s a matter of execution.
“It’s on us, not the system,” Maggio said. “It’s just that their killers are wanting it more than us. They’re blocking the shots and getting in the lanes. Again, they’re outplaying us and that’s on us, as a group of five, to figure it out.”
The game marked the first time since Nov. 1, 2018 (Ottawa 67’s) that the Spitfires were shut out at home and the first time since March 20, 2008 (at Windsor Arena) that they were shut out in the playoffs.
Heading to Kitchener for Games 3 and 4
Leaving the WFCU Centre in Windsor down 2-0 in the series wasn’t something anyone saw coming. However, it’s the reality that the Spitfires must deal with. They now head to the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.
This season, the Spitfires won both contests in that rink. That was in the first half, though, and the Rangers made several additions at the Jan. 10 trade deadline. The Auditorium is also an incredibly loud playoff rink and, with their team coming home up 2-0, it’s going to be hostile territory. However, Maggio pointed to the 2019 Guelph Storm who fought back from multiple deficits to win the OHL championship.
“There’s no loss of belief, we’re still a really confident group,” he said. “I was telling some of the younger guys that probably don’t know it, the Storm were down 3-0, 3-1, and 2-0 in their series when they won … we can definitely claw our way back out of this one.”
Tuesday will also see two Spitfires’ lineup changes. Defenceman Rodwin Dionicio returns following a two-game suspension from an incident in the regular season finale. They will also start veteran goaltender Mathias Onuska, who played well last season on their run to the OHL Championship. Savard said that it’s simply to change things up and nothing against 17-year-old Joey Costanzo, who has played very well.
Related: OHL: Spitfires Get Castle and Dionicio From IceDogs Before Trade Deadline
Right now, it’s a matter of taking a deep breath, not panicking, and playing the game they know they’ve got. They’re the first seed for a reason and now it’s time to act like it.
“I got chills talking to the guys after,” Savard said. “It’s still going to be a series. We haven’t played our best game, that’s for sure.”